Carrying cases



April 24, 1956 A. E. READ, JR

CARRYING CASES 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Feb. 16, 1955 INVENTOR 6' Apr/m? IQEAQJIZ' ATTORNEY April 4, 1956 A. E. READ, JR 2,743,030

CARRYING CASES Filed Feb. 16, 1953 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVEN FOR Axe-max? 59.54am

ATTORNEY United States Patent CARRYING CASES Arthur E. Read, In, West Andover, Mass., assignor, by mesne assignments, to The General Tire & Rubber Company, Akron, Ohio, a corporation of Ohio Application February 16, 1953, Serial No. 336,967

3 Claims. (Cl. 220-21) This invention relates particularly to improvements in carrying cases of that type used in the handling of containers, such as soft drink bottles and the like, although the development is capable of many other applications.

One of the objects of the invention is to provide a carrying case formed from a plastic high impact molding material, preferably a copolymer of styrene or its equivalent.

A further object of the invention is the provision of a carrying case which is molded from a suitable plastic material by a single molding operation and in which the bottom of the case is provided with a multiplicity of spaced, relatively arranged bosses, so positioned as to fit into the concave bottoms of soft drink bottles and other similar receptacles, whereby they are retained and positioned in proper association during handling; the carrying case also including a removable and interchangeable cell-forming structure to provide for the carrying of the receptacles in pre-selected determined groups in accordance with common practice in the trade.

A further object of the invention is to provide a carrying case which may be molded by a single operation from a suitable plastic and in which the structure of the case includes positioning parts both for the receptacles to be contained therein and for interchangeable partition parts, whereby both the receptacles carried in the case and the partitions separating or spacing the receptacles are retained against misalignment so that the cases when loaded may be superimposed with the receptacles properly related and nested.

A further object of the invention is to provide a desirable carrying case embodying all of the required characteristics and structural features essential for use in the trade, the carrying case being formed preferably of a copolymer of styrene or its equivalent and therefore inherently of great strength so that the finished structure, the invention in the present application, may be subjected to the rugged uses and abuses prevalent in the handling of such devices without injury either to the structure or to its contents.

Another object of the invention is the molding of a carrying case of copolymer sheeting so that such cases may be of a large number of colors and further may be furnished with any number of surfaces, such as mirror, matte, grained or patterned.

The present invention further comprehends the use of a plastic material of such a character that a carrying case when produced from the material by a single molding operation from an inexpensive mold provides a relatively thin structure having a weight substantially less than the weight of similar structures made from conventional materials and possesses far greater strength and is capable of more rugged handling and as a result is more durable in use.

Another characteristic of the instant invention is its relative inexpensiveness of manufacture due to such factors as minimum mold expense, material expense, and work expense in production, while at the same time prorricg ducing a lighter, stronger and better device for the purpose intended.

Other objects of the invention will be apparent to one skilled in the art by reference to the accompanying drawings forming a part of the instant invention, in which like characters of reference designate corresponding parts throughout the several views, in which:

Fig. l is a top plan view of the invention with a portion of a side flange broken away;

Fig. 2 is a section on line 2-2 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a transverse section;

Fig. 4 is a top plan view of a carrying case illustrating a partitioning of the case into groups of six;

Fig. 5 is a similar view with the partitions providing two groups of twelve;

Fig. 6 is a fragmentary sectional view showing the use of the filler at the end flange in handling a case; and

Fig. 7 is a similar section illustrating another type of end filler.

Referring to the drawings it will be seen that the in stant invention is in the form of a tray having a bottom 1, side walls 2, and end walls 3. The bottom 1 is formed with a plurality of spaced aligned rows of upwardly extending annular protuberances in the form of bosses or buttons 4, capable of being received in the concave bottom end of commercial bottles such as are used in the handling of soft drinks and the like and indicated at A. It will be apparent that the individual bosses may be otherwise shaped and of different dimension and ar rangement to position other commodities which are to be associated therewith. The present tray shows four longitudinal rows of such annular upwardly extending bosses or protuberances. equally spaced longitudinally and the rows similarly and regularly spaced to provide sufficient clearance for the positioning of the various receptacles on their respective bases. The individual longitudinal rows, which are indi-. cated in Fig. 3 of the present drawings as B, C, D and E,

are equally spaced and between these rows the bottom 1 is depressed to form three downwardly projecting longitudinally aligned and equally spaced ribs or seams 5 providing supporting structures when the tray is seated on a flat base such as indicated by line FG in Fig. 3. Such downwardly extending ribs or seams 5 are arranged intermediate the respective rows of upwardly extending bosses 4 and provide rigid supporting elements which due to the characteristics of the material utilized are capable of severe handling without injury, it being apparent that the multiple arrangement of ribs and the distribution of the ribs provide always for a uniform seating of the structure even should one of the ribs be partially fractured as the result of long use and abuse.

In forming the longitudinal ribs 5, their medial longitudinal portions are depressed and thus provide the elongated centrally aligned slots 6, best shown in Figs. 3 and 5, and these slots 6 extend from end to end of the ribs and vertically of the end walls 3, as shown at 6 The slots 6 in the end walls and which slots form a continuation of the longitudinal slots 6 in the bottom of the tray are formed by continuing the ribs 5 from the bottom of the tray and upwardly throughout the vertical height of each of the end walls. The slots 6-6 provide continuous longitudinally extending recesses in between the longitudinal rows of bosses 4 for the seating of longitudinal partitions as hereinafter more fully described.

In the side walls 3 equally spaced vertical slots are provided as shown at 7. However, these vertical slots 7 in the side walls terminate at the bottom of the tray structure. The slots or grooves in the side and end walls define intermediate portions 8 of arcuate form best shown in Fig. 1, these arcuate portions having their outer and inner faces merging into the outer and inner faces of the 2,743,030 Patented Apr. 24, 1956 The individual bosses are grooved ribs, presenting a pleasing form of greater strength and partially defining the outer receptacle cells.

It will also be noted that the entire inner and outer structure is of a contour throughout its entirety to facilitate the molding operation and the stripping of the article from the mold. Referring to Fig. 2 it will be seen that the bottom of the vertical ribs in which the grooves 7 are formed are of curved form and likewise the bosses are constructed in a manner avoiding sharp corners, recesses and pockets which might interfere with the processes of manufacture.

The transversely arcuate vertically extending recesses 8 and the parts of the wall intermediate thereof and defining the vertical ribs and slots merge into a flat surface at the upper edge of the wall structure as shown at 10 to provide marginal flattened areas suitable for a rounded flange operation to form a spaced depending flange throughout the upper marginal edge of the sides and end walls, the flanges being substantially of greater width at the end walls as shown at 12 than at the side walls at 14 to facilitate the positioning of a filler element of suitable structure and form in order that the handling of the case may be facilitated, it being conventional in the handling of such cases either while in empty condition or in filled condition to position the hands substantially in the manner shown in Pig. 6. Normally should the flange structure at the ends of the case be without a filler of suitable form, the edge of the depending flange shown at 11 would tend to cut the handlers fingers, particularly when the case is loaded, as it is well known that bottles and fluid container therein is of substantial weight.

It will be noticed that the ribs 5 at the end of the case merge with the supporting ribs 5 extending longitudinally of the case structure and that these ribs are uniformly slotted interiorly throughout their entire length to a point where the inner walls taper outwardly as shown at 10. By this structure, the longitudinal spacing members 15 seat in the slots throughout their entire bottoms and ends, and are retained against longitudinal and transverse movement by upright walls of the slots which form a seat for the bottom and end edges thereof. The transverse partitions 16 have only their ends seated in the slots 7, these transverse partitions 16 having flat bottom edges which seat on the flat upper face of the bottom of'the case.

It will be noted that the side and end wall structures 2 and 3 are so constructed that the irregular surfaces constituting the walls lie in a common plane throughout the length of the wall. This is accomplished by terminating the transversely arcuate Wall sections 8 into rounded shoulders 8 and providing the vertical slots 6 in the end walls and slots 7 in the side walls between the rounded shoulders 8*, as best shown in the plan view of Fig. 1. It will be obvious that the rounded portions 8 constitute the abutting wall for the adjacent container while the intermediate portions provide rounded vertical shoulders between which are formed the grooves for the partitions. In Fig. 2 at A a bottle is shown in position and the associated faces of the container are illustrated as approximating the adjacent faces of the bottle.

Referring to Fig. 6 a filler is illustrated at 20 of a diameter and arcuate contour to be received within the outwardly projecting end flanges 11, 12 and 14 of the carrying case, these fillers being shown in Fig. l as extending substantially the major portion of the length of the end flange structure and as being centered in these end flange structures to present a concave face 21 for receiving the finger or thumb of an operator who is handling the structure during its use. In Fig. 7 a different type of filler is illustrated at 25 in the form of a tube, the rounded face following the contour of the outer wall of the downturned flanged edge 11 and forming therewith a contour suitable for convenient handling. The tube 25 may be of a suitable size to be properly associated in the flange and to form with the flange and the adjacent wall an area for convenient gripping and manipulation of the carrying case. Screws 27 or other fastening means may be provided for securing the fillers 20 and 25 in position. In the present illustration the screws or fastenings are shown as extending from the inside of the case outwardly through the wall and into the filler member. This may be modified to provide the best securing means for the structure and at the same time not weaken the structure but present therewith a smooth surface.

All parts of the assembly are relatively positioned, constructed and arranged to secure the maximum strength and stability of the carrying case, it being a well known fact to those familiar with the art that these cases are subjected to extremely rough usage under relatively heavy load conditions. The strength of the structure in the present design does not interfere with the symmetrical and pleasing appearance of the carrying case. In fact, the symmetrical structure has been incorporated in the assembly in a manner to increase to the maximum the strength of the assembly.

Referring now to Fig. l, the carrying case is illustrated with all of the longitudinal partitions 3t) and transverse partitions 31 in position, and it will be noted that these partitions define twenty-four separate cells, each capable of receiving a container of the same size and configuration. As previously stated, the longitudinal par titions 30 are received into the vertical slots formed in the end walls as at 6 while the bottom marginal edges of the longitudinal partitions 30 are received in the longitudinal grooves 6 formed in the bottom of the carrying case in the spaced ribs 5, which latter provide the supporting members for the carrying case when on a flat surface. The transverse partitions 31 are received in the vertical slots 7 in the side walls and due to their interengaging association with the lengthwise partitions 30 are retained against lateral movement and therefore are not provided with transverse grooves for their bottom marginal edges. The partitions are separable so that the carrying case may be utilized for supporting smaller containers or for segregating separate groups of containers, as for instance in Fig. 4 where the central transverse partition is utilized with a single longitudinal partition, thus dividing the carrying case into four sections, each capable of supporting and retaining six bottles or receptacles. In Fig. 5 only the single central longitudinal partition is used and in this illustration it is intended that containers "for a dozen bottles be associated with the carrying case, or the carrying case provided with the single partitionfor segregating two groups of a dozen bottles without a separate holder. It is to be understood that in the handling of soft drink bottles, the carrying case, comprising-the instant development, is basically for transporting cases of at least two dozen bottles and that in the trade it is sometimes customary to have the groups of bottles in the main carrying case, forming this invention, split into separate containers each holding six or a dozen bottles. The latter smaller containers are ofttimes made of paper or other, destructible material and facilitate shipment for that trade wherein the bottles are not individually sold but are sold in groups for transportation and use in domestic refrigerators or the like.

What I claim is:

l. A carrying, case of the type described formed from plastic high impact molding material and including a bottom, side and end walls, the side and end walls being formed with a multiplicity of spaced concave surfaces, said surfaces being separated by pairs of convex portions, and said convex portions being spaced by outwardly projecting ribs having inwardly facing vertical channelways formed therein, the spaced outwardly projecting ribs of the end walls of the case being connected by similar rib portions extending throughout the length of the bottom of the case and extending substantially below said bottom, the latter rib portions being formed with upwardly facing channelways, partition members having their ends and bottom seated in said channelways, and cross partitions connecting the inwardly facing channelways of the side walls, the inner wall faces intermediate said rib portions being of acruate concave form.

2. The structure of claim 1 characterized in that flanges are provided at the upper marginal edges of the ends of the tray, said flanges projecting outwardly and providing arcuate seats, and filler elements fixed in said seats.

3. A tray of the character described, comprising a body, a bottom, sides and end Walls, said bottom, sides and end walls being fonned of a molded plastic as a single unit, said side and end walls being formed with concave vertically extending recesses on their inner faces, vertical slots formed in the side and end walls intermediate the concave recesses, slots connecting the slots in the end wall and extending lengthwise and downwardly into said bottom, partitions adapted to be received in the slots in the bottom and in the ends walls, additional partitions intersecting the first partitions and having their extremities in the slots in the side walls and having their bottoms lying upon the upper surface of the bottom, said end walls 6 being formed with laterally extending downwardly facing flanges, and filler members secured within said flanges, said filler members having rounded lower faces and being removably secured to the flanges.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,512,313 Rowe Oct. 21, 1924 1,773,926 Michael Aug. 26, 1930 2,004,652 Dempsey June 11, 1935 2,125,856 DeWitt Aug. 2, 1938 2,199,740 Carney May 7, 1940 2,339,474, Hardin Jan. 18, 1944 2,439,716 Canfield Apr. 13, 1948 2,469,034 Garris May 3, 1949 2,535,493 Gerber Dec. 26, 1950 2,582,189 Cohen et al Jan. 8, 1952 2,588,805 Cross Mar. 11, 1952 2,626,079 Keller Jan. 20, 1953 2,655,282 Dunbar Oct. 13, 1953 

